Commonwealth: Raise Rights at Sri Lanka Summit
Media Guide a Tool to Press for Answers-NOVEMBER 11, 2013

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CHOGM Media Guide (PDF)

The Sri Lankan government’s promises of accountability since the war’s end have come to very little. If the Commonwealth has to have its meeting in Colombo, then human rights protections in Sri Lanka need to be prominently on the agenda.

Brad Adams, Asia director

(New York) – Governments attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting should press the host, Sri Lanka, on accountability for alleged war crimes and ongoing human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch and the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice said today. The two groups released a media guide for the November 15-17, 2013 summit.

The 22-page media guide provides information on both the summit and Sri Lanka, from practical tips on getting around the country to the human rights situation four years after the end of the 26-year conflict with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. It encourages journalists at the Commonwealth meeting to look behind the official statements and tourist attractions and to ask government delegations about concerns over human rights issues in Sri Lanka.

“The Sri Lankan government’s promises of accountability since the war’s end have come to very little,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “If the Commonwealth has to have its meeting in Colombo, then human rights protections in Sri Lanka need to be prominently on the agenda.”

The Sri Lankan government has taken few meaningful steps to address the massive violations of human rights and the laws of war that have been reported by the United Nations, the media, and human rights groups. A United Nations panel of experts found that up to 40,000 civilians died in the final months of fighting. Government authorities have committed torture, including rape, against suspected rebel supporters both during and since the conflict. Nearly 6,000 victims of enforced disappearances remain unaccounted for.

The government is also acting in a heavy-handed way in connection with the Commonwealth summit itself, Human Rights Watch and the Sri Lanka Campaign said. The government has denied entry to participants in an International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, including two United Nations special rapporteurs. State media has threatened local activists and the UK’s Channel 4 team.

Given Sri Lanka’s human rights situation, the Commonwealth should not have agreed to hold the summit in Sri Lanka or to award the two-year Commonwealth chairmanship to Colombo, Human Rights Watch and the Sri Lanka Campaign said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada announced that he would not attend the summit because of the Sri Lankan government’s failure to implement “Commonwealth values.” The government of the United Kingdom has committed to raising rights issues during the summit. David Cameron’s spokesperson recently announced that in the absence of proper investigations by the Sri Lankan government, the UK will back calls for an international investigation. The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has been under domestic pressure not to attend, or to express his concerns publicly if he does.

“By intimidating their critics into silence, carefully managing media opportunities, and clamping down hard on civil society, the government will attempt to portray Sri Lanka as a country enjoying a successful reconciliation process,” said Fred Carver, campaign director at the Sri Lanka Campaign. “This guide will assist journalists to ask the tough questions that the Sri Lankan government and their Commonwealth supporters need to answer.”

I Have Some Linen

By Mahendran Thiruvarangan -November 11, 2013 

Mahendran Thiruvarangan

On reading Daya Somasundaram’s “Collective trauma in the Vanni- a qualitative inquiry into the mental health of the internally displaced due to the civil war in Sri Lanka” on the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo[i]

Can you hear me?

Is this cacophony too loud?

In Colombo, Paris, Chennai, Toronto and London,

the Brothers, siblings and masters,

in tongues that speak of deafening half-truths,

concoct flawed histories of terror and relief.

Buried deeply under my homelands,

my story, my suffering, my blood,

vanishing beyond the senses’ reach,

long lost in other stories,

about nations and sovereignties,

about humanitarianism and genocide.                              Read More

WikiLeaks: Key Concerns In Screening Centers, Family Separation And Sexual Violence – UNHCR To US

“Pascale Moreau, UNHCR,s Acting Director for Asia, stressed that UNHCR had no one on the ground in the areas of conflict and has not been allowed full access to interview IDPs, so it has no primary source information on what happened during the conflict. Her discussion with Amb. Williamson focused more on the current status of IDP camps and the expectations for the return home or relocation of the civilians there. On screening, Moreau said that UNHCR had recently gotten access to the Omanthai crossing point, where it was allowed to oversee the general process, but did not have direct access to the individuals.” the US Mission to UN informed Washington.

Pascale Moreau, UNHCR

The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The “Confidential” cable discuses what had happened on the ground during and since the conflict. The cable was signed by the US Ambassador to Geneva Clint Williamson on July 15, 2009.

The ambassador wrote; “Moreau stated that it was not easy to draw any conclusions, positive or negative, about Omanthai in terms of disappearances, but she stressed that this was somewhat academic in any case. Most of the IDPs have already been screened at Kilinochi, where there is no international oversight, before moving on to Omanthai. Two key humanitarian concerns for both the screening centers and the IDP camps was the extensive problem of family separation, including large numbers of children, and reports of sexual and gender-based violence. She suggested that Amb. Williamson speak with UNICEF, which has been looking into the plight of these children. On violence against women, Moreau indicated that in part this stemmed from the high incidence of separated females or female-headed households among IDPs. When asked why the GSL was not pursuing family reunification more vigorously, Moreau stated that it is not the GSL,s highest priority just after the conflict and that such an effort is logistically very difficult. Two other key areas of concern are pushing the GSL to decongest camps and making an internal UNHCR decision on how best to balance providing for the living needs of IDPs in terms of housing and sanitation while simultaneously not enabling the GSL to create permanent camps.”

Other related stories to this cable;

SL military issues death threats to elected members amidst presence of foreign journalists

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 November 2013, 12:26 GMT]
Amidst the presence of foreign journalists who have come to Jaffna in connection with the CHOGM meet, alleged operatives of the occupying SL military have been issuing death threats to the organisers of the protest scheduled to take place on Tuesday. In the early hours of Monday, heads of dead cows were dumped in front of the houses of chairman and deputy chairman of the elected civic body of Valikaamam North. The act, which is not only considered as deeply insulting, but also as reminding the days of beheading, comes as both the elected Tamil National Alliance (TNA) members were engaged in organising a protest against the transformation of former ‘High Security Zone’ lands into ‘Sinhala Military Zone’ and the demolition of houses by the SL military in Valikaamam North. 

Both Mr S. Sugirthan, the chairman of the Piratheasa Chapai (PS) and Mr S. Sajeevan, the deputy chairman of the PS have been receiving anonymous phone calls with beheading death threats if they went ahead with organising the protests. 

Regardless of the threats, the uprooted people are determined to stage the protest, civil sources in Valikaamam North said. 

Mr Sugirthan and Mr Sajeevan said they had registered complaints with the SL police although the SL police also operates with the same motive as that of the occupying military of Colombo. 

The SL military operatives had earlier deployed similar threats against civil leaders, rights activists and prominent academics in Jaffna. Heads of dead cows were also thrown into the wells by the SL military operatives. The SL operatives have also used crude oil attacks against the activists.

Sri Lanka: Threats against Nimalka Fernando’s life and other human rights defenders through state media

Sri Lanka: Threats against Nimalka Fernando’s life and other human rights defenders through state media

Nimalka Fernando

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Complaint made to the HRC-SL and IGP by Dr. Nimalka Fernando

At SLHRC Nimalka Fernando with political party leaders 

The radio programme titled Rata Yana Atha (The way country is forging ahead) broadcasted in the Commercial Channel of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation on 4th November 2013 was based on a voice cut given by me to the Hiru TV to be relayed in the HARD TALK segment during the daily news bulletin. I had listened to the original version of the HARD TALK relayed on Sunday 3rd of November by HIRU TV. 

IB Reference: IMP/PAC/0/1140/13(Police Complaint Number) 

Sri Lanka Threats against Nimalka Fernando’s life and other human rights defenders through state media by nelvely

Video: Dayan On Geopolitical Matrix Of Indo-Sri Lanka Relations

Title:A Perception from South Asia’s Far South: The Geopolitical Matrix of Indo-Sri Lanka Relations

Speaker: Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

7th South Asia Conference, October 30-31, 2013

Video: Full Interview – Rudrakumaran On ‘That Tamil Issue’

November 11, 2013 |
This is the full interview with Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran for the documentary ‘That Tamil Issue’. Interviewers : Tejinder Singh and Rajesh Sundaram. Co-Producer : Prakash Ezumalai

PM – TGTE – Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran

Bid to brief media: Aussie NZ, politicians deported Sumanthiran accuses govt. of being paranoid

By Shamindra Ferdinando-November 10, 2013, 10:05 pm 

The Department of Immigration and Emigration yesterday prevented two visiting parliamentarians from Australia and New Zealand from having a media briefing at the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) office, at No 32 A Retreat Road, Bambalapitiya, to discuss the situation in the Northern Province.

New Zealand Greens Party MP Jan Logie and Australian Senator Lee Rhiannon, also representing the Greens Party, were asked to leave the country. They arrived in Colombo following a tour of the Northern Province under the auspices of the TNA.

Sources based in Vavuniya told The Island that the visitors met representatives of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi, TELO, PLOTE and EPRLF.Talks centered on the government taking over land, disappearances, those in detention for long periods, war time atrocities and the post-Provincial Council situation, sources said.

Authoritative government sources told The Island that the MPs had been here on a mission funded by the UK based Tamil Diaspora.

"We believe the Global Tamil Forum was behind the latest propaganda project," a senior official said, accusing Logie and Rhiannon of pursuing an anti-Sri Lanka agenda for their personal gain. Their media briefing was meant to embarrass the government in the run-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) over the next weekend, the official said.

The Immigration and Emigration Department confiscated the two foreign politicians’ passports and moved to deport them. A senior official said they were here on tourist visas. Therefore, they had no right to engage the media.

TNA National List MP M.A. Sumanthiran told The Island that the MPs, during their visit to the Northern Province, had had an opportunity to discuss the situation on the ground with TNA representatives. Having closely examined the situation there, they had felt the need to brief the media before they left the country, attorney-at-law Sumanthiran said. "As they wanted space to meet the media in Colombo, we offered our office down Retreat Road, Bambalapitiya. The state-run media should have come there and challenged them. Instead, the government forced the MPs to cancel the briefing."

Sumanthiran said that there was absolutely no need to deport them as they were scheduled to leave the country yesterday. The MP urged the government not to suppress the media taking cover under various regulations. He accused the government of being paranoid in view of the presence of over 200 journalists from Commonwealth countries.

CHOGM: Indian PM's absence to benefit China?

Doubts voiced over India-Sri Lanka ties as Manmohan Singh decides to stay away from Commonwealth summit in Colombo.

The Indian PM's decision to abstain is likely to be viewed as a snub by Colombo [Reuters]

V Prem Shanker Last updated: 11 Nov 2013  Chennai, India - The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) will begin in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo this Friday, but Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won’t be attending. Singh is the second head of state to announce he won't be going to the summit after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pulled out citing Sri Lanka's human rights record, particularly the treatment of the country's ethnic Tamil minority. British Prime Minister David Cameron has also expressed concern over the handling of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

CHOGM Indian PM's Absence to Benefit China by nelvely

CHOGM No-Show If Human Rights A No-Go

By Belinda Cranston -November 11, 2013

Belinda Cranston

There is little point in delegates gathering at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka unless rule of law issues in the South Asian nation are raised, a Sri Lankan human rights lawyer says.

The meeting, which will be opened by Prince Charles on 15 November, has already been boycotted by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has criticised the host country for failing to investigate human-rights violations during its 29-year civil war.

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, who is delivering two public lectures at ANU next week, says countries including Australia are obliged to discuss the unravelling of the rule of law in Sri Lanka while attending the CHOGM meeting in Colombo.

Rule of law refers to a legal system in which the law is able to impose meaningful restraints on a country’s government.

“If a country were to take the position that it observed the rule of law in its own country, but is not concerned about that not being observed in other countries…I do not think that attitude is a reasonable one,” she said.

“And I do not think that that attitude is appropriate.”

For ‘ordinary’ Sri Lankans, Pinto-Jayawardena maintained CHOGM was of little relevance.

“Because the rule of law is not being enforced by the host country,” she said.

Pinto-Jayawardena attributes the ‘complete and utter breakdown’ of the country’s legal system following the end of the civil war in 2009, to the centralisation of power in one person – namely Sri Lankan presidentMahinda Rajapaksa.

No Fire Zone Was Chilling, Tweets British PM

November 11, 2013 |

British Prime Minister David Cameron who watched the controversial documentary No Fire Zone by Callum Macrae over the weekend, tweeted that he would have “serious questions” to raise with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he arrived in Colombo for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) later this week.

David Cameron

Cameron said on his official Twitter account that he had seen the documentary that alleges to show footage giving evidence of serious war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces that it had been a “chilling documentary.”

Amid pressure for the British Prime Minister to boycott CHOGM in protest against Colombo’s terrible human rights record, Cameron and members of his Government have repeatedly assured the Parliament and the media that they would be going to Sri Lanka to “talk tough” in person to the Rajapaksa regime.

Tory MPs banned from free Sri Lanka trips

Conservative Party cracks down on members who agreed to defend regime after accepting invitations

By Claire Newell, Holly Watt, Ben Bryant-11 Nov 2013
Conservative MPs have been banned from travelling on an all-expenses-paid trip to this week’s Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka amid growing concern over the regime’s lobbying activities in Britain.

The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the Sri Lankan High Commission in London has privately boasted that it now has 14 MPs prepared to publicly defend the regime, and was hoping to fly several to the south Asian island this week.

Many have already been on luxurious trips to Sri Lanka, some accompanied by their wives or girlfriends, after which several have made parliamentary speeches urging greater “understanding” of the circumstances surrounding the civil war.

Some were due to be in Sri Lanka this week — at the regime’s expense — but have now been banned by the Conservative Party in the wake of a Daily Telegraph investigation into their relationship with the Sri Lankan government.

They had initially been granted permission to travel, but this was abruptly withdrawn at the end of last week “on the advice of the Foreign Office” after this newspaper began making detailed inquiries.

This week, Sri Lanka will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit despite controversy over human-rights abuses in the country. Stephen Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister, has already said that he will not attend, and speculation is growing that the Indian government will also boycott it. Labour has demanded that David Cameron also cancel his appearance, but the Prime Minister is determined to attend. He will, however, have high-profile meetings with opposition leaders. The Prince of Wales is representing the Queen.

It can now be disclosed that there is concern at the highest levels of the Government about the activities of a number of MPs.

At a meeting earlier this month, Chris Nonis, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in London, said there were 14 people “waiting to speak if they had been given the opportunity” during a debate.

According to people at the meeting, Mr Nonis said the country had increased its supporters in Parliament from two to 14.

He said that they had “achieved things” because they had “engaged” with Parliamentarians. One Conservative MP has told The Daily Telegraph how he has been offered “whatever he wants” from the Sri Lankan government, including luxury holidays.

In May, Aidan Burley, the MP for Cannock Chase, paid an official visit there with his girlfriend. It is understood that the couple became engaged during their stay. Mr Burley was due to travel there again this week. Another MP due to go again, James Wharton, has already made two trips to the island, funded by Sri Lanka’s regime.

During a Westminster Hall debate in January, Mr Wharton said: “I have been to Sri Lanka a number of times, and the visits are all declared in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

“What worries me is how much misinformation is out there about what is happening on the ground. The tone of debate in the House too often worries me, because we focus on what we can do to punish the government of Sri Lanka.”

Bob Blackman MP took his wife to Sri Lanka last year, with other parliamentarians, paid for by Sri Lanka.

Another Conservative MP said that he had an “open invitation” and that the Sri Lankan government had said: “You can have whatever you want.”

The country has 5,676 “outstanding cases” of disappearances — more than any other apart from Iraq — and the Prevention of Terrorism Act allows anyone to be jailed without charge for up to 18 months. There have been reports that security forces are still raping and torturing “suspects”.

Mr Burley said that it was “entirely appropriate to have visited the country on a trip that has not been funded at all by British taxpayers”.

Mr Wharton said he had “declared all declarable visits in accordance with the rules”. He said he had visited the country “as a guest of the government… to ensure a balanced view on all the issues”.

Mr Blackman did not respond to questions.

Conservative sources confirmed that the Whips’ Office had told MPs that they could not go to Sri Lanka.

Three MPs were due to have flown out yesterday or today but the whips told them they were required for votes in the Commons.

David Cameron fired Mr Burley from an advisory role in 2011 after it was reported that he had been responsible for hiring replica Nazi uniforms for a stag weekend party in France.

British journalists will be allowed to cover Cameron in North

By Shamindra Ferdinando-November 10, 2013, 10:05 pm 

The government yesterday allowed a group of British journalists to proceed to Jaffna overland following an intervention by the British High Commission.

Well informed sources told The Island that security authorities in Vavuniya had stopped media personnel and some locals as they didn’t have the required approvals to visit Jaffna. Sources identified three of the foreigners as members of British media outfit ITV. Responding to a query, sources said that they had come to cover the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) but were on their way to Jaffna before British Prime Minister David Cameron’s scheduled visit to Jaffna next Friday.

The group had been forced to go overland due to failure on the part of a private airline to fly them to Jaffna, sources said. "We believe the aircraft couldn’t take off due to some technical glitch. Had they got on that aircraft, they could have landed in Jaffna within an hour," an official said.Sources said that several other media delegations having CHOGM accreditation were expected to be in Jaffna to cover the UK Premier’s visit to Jaffna. Cameron was expected to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa after having visited Jaffna, sources said, adding that the government was concerned about a section of the foreign press adopting an extremely hostile approach towards Sri Lanka.

US State Department gets briefing on human rights situ in SL

 Monday, 11 November 2013 

The US State Department has received a briefing on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

TNA parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah and M.A. Sumanthiran have returned from the US where they had reportedly participated in en event organized by the Tamil Diaspora.

At the same time, the TNA delegation has had a briefing with the US State Department on the situation in the North.

TNA parliamentarian Sumanthiran has said that among the issues discussed was the progress, or lack of it, made on the resolution adopted on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“We had also discussed the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and her oral update to the Human Rights Council. We highlighted the fact that Pillay had noted that if there is no tangible progress she will push for an international investigation,” he has observed.

The TNA is also preparing to raise human rights issues and the problems faced by the people in the North with the Commonwealth leaders during the period of CHOGM this week.

The CHOGM controversy

IMAGE: (THECOMMONWEALTH.ORG)

ABC Home

Monday 11 November 2013 

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) got underway this week, but without the leaders of Canada and India.

Earlier today, India's Prime minister Manmohan Singh confirmed he would skip the summit. He's followed the lead of the Canadian PM Stephen Harper, amid growing pressure for a boycott of the event over alleged war crimes by Colombo.

There was renewed concern about Australia sending Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop after the Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon was detained by immigration officials in Colombo over the weekend. She and the New Zealand Greens MP Jan Logie were on a fact-finding visit to the country and had spent several days speaking to members of the Tamil community.

Tailed By Intelligence In Colombo, Says Channel 4 CHOGM Team

November 11, 2013 

Britain’s Channel 4 team that arrived in Sri Lanka today to cover the Commonwealth summit to be greeted with “public” demonstrations at the airport and at their hotel now claim they are being followed in and out of their hotel in Colombo.

The Channel 4 team includes No Fire Zone Director Callum Macrae.

Photo credit Duncan Stone, Twitpics

Channel 4 News Editor Ben De Pear tweeted a short while ago that a car with plates ending 4612 were following the media team from their airport to their hotel and now from the hotel out.

Channel 4 Journalist Jonathan Miller also tweeted that they were being followed by a motorbike, a car and three men.

“Tailed by lka intel (intelligence) from airport to hotel & now to dinner. 1 motorbike, 1 silver Kia Sedan reg 4612, 3 men with taches,” Miller tweeted.

Even as the capital is mostly shut down for the summit and VIP arrivals demonstrators managed to get very close to the airport’s main exit door at the arrivals terminal. The Government has however prevented accredited media covering the summit from going to the airport to photograph and report on arrivals.

It is also curious that the demonstrators happened to know exactly what time the Channel 4 team was landing at the BIA, said one reporter based in Colombo.

With the degree of surveillance on the Channel 4 team so high, local journalists are unlikely to engage with the broadcasting team and they are unlikely to be able to travel freely to other areas of the country without endangering the people they speak to on their travels, the journalist explained.

Yesterday the crew from Britain’s ITV had their flight to Jaffna cancelled and were forced to take the road to the North, with the authorities now fully aware of their movements.

Channel 4 Team Arrives In SL; Greeted By Protests At BIA

November 11, 2013 

Days after the Government announced again that demonstrations and protests would not be permitted during CHOGM 2013 the Channel 4 team and No Fire Zone director Callum Macrae exited the Bandaranaike International Airport to face a media mob and a demonstration against the broadcaster a short while ago.

Photo credit Duncan Stone, Twitpics

The Government has accredited Channel 4 to cover the CHOGM summit in Colombo.

The airport is under tight security with expected road closures throughout the day to facilitate VIP travel from the airport to the capital.

However the demonstrators protesting Channel 4′s documentaries accusing the Sri Lankan Government forces of war crimes was permitted at main exit doors of the BIA.

“We have walked out of Colombo airport straight into noisy anti channel 4 demo,” Channel 4′s Jonathan Miller tweeted on arrival.

On the weekend, several foreign journalists reported finding a special booklet inserted into their CHOGM media packs discrediting Channel 4′s claims, entitled ‘Corrupted Journalism.’ Commonwealth Spokesman Richard Uku is reportedly investigating how the booklets got into the CHOGM media packs.